Some fictional characters have a hard legacy to live up to. They’re savior figures, destined to lead humanity through dark times and bring them to a promised heavenly destination.
And just to make the symbolism inescapable, their initials are J.C.
John Connor, for example. He already knows that he’s destined to lead the rebellion against SkyNet. Initials: J.C. Christ figure: heck yeah.
Jesse Custer, of Preacher fame. Like the title says, he’s a preacher. He spends some time in a town called Salvation. His word is as compelling as God’s. Christ figure: I should say so.
What other characters have the initials J.C. and a mission to save humanity from what ails it?
The visiting alien in The Day the Earth Stood Still, who tries to save humanity from itself, and is killed for his efforts, takes the name John Carpenter when he goes incognito to see what earthlings are really like.
Jiminy Cricket is clearly a Christ figure. In the original Carlo Collodi book he even rises from the dead to help Pinocchio. (He’s just called “Cricket” in the book. They called him “Jiminy” in the Disney film because “Jiminy Cricket” is a mild oath, I suspect because the initials are … “JC”.)
By the way, my initials aren’t JC, but I’m the firstborn son of Joseph and Mary, and my birthday’s in December. Do i qualify?
While hardly leading people toward a heavenly destination, John Constantine of Hellblazer has certainly saved humanity from enough demons and other mystical and mythological nasties that many readers feel he qualifies.
Joan Crawford as she was portrayed in the book and film Mommie Dearest. She certainly wasn’t a Christ figure but Faye Dunaway did inspire worship among a certain segment of the population.
John Carter of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom” books) not only has the right initials, but when he mentally teleports to Mars, his body here on Earth falls backwards with his arms outstretched.
